There is a lot of stuff in my head.
You don’t want to be in there. Trust me.
In an effort to organize myself this week, I made an actual written To-Do List. I’m normally not that organized, but there’s something especially motivating about getting to cross through things.
In that spirit, I decided to join in Meghan’s Week in Review. Because I got shit done. Meghan, what do you think about renaming it “Shit I Got Done”?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB0riDVGjXD/
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Apparently you can cook pasta in any liquid.
Why not choose a liquid you love?
Pasta is an easy go-to dinner, but you can make it extra fancy with a strange but incredibly good twist. Why not boil the pasta in red wine? This simple move makes a complex, beautiful pasta.
Seems appropriate for Valentine’s Day, no?
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Is it cold where you are?
Because hell froze over.
While I love to cook, I’m not especially crafty. I even have a Pinterest board titled Stuff I’ll Never Make. Maybe it’s the wine holiday spirit, but I decided to take the plunge with an appropriately-themed wreath. (The theme here is wine.)
Yes, I finally did something with the bazillion wine corks we’ve been collecting. It really wasn’t difficult and I’m so happy with how it turned out. All that hard work drinking wine paid off!
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Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese?
Besides me at age 6… I didn’t like cheese… IDK.
As strange as it is not to like cheese, I eventually grew out of it and embraced cheese’s goodness.
Vegas and I got to attend a cheese a wine class as part of the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival a couple of weeks ago. The class was called “Cheese: A Class to Make You Melt”… and melt we did! How could you not when the class starts out with a plate of cheese a a generous wine pour?
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It’s Christmas time!
Didn’t we JUST have Thanksgiving?
We made it back from our travels in one piece Monday night, but I feel like a zombie now. How is it already December?
Did you start holiday shopping yet? I did a little t-shirt shopping in South Carolina for me. The people at the gym today loved my Furman University shirt.
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I should probably stop celebrating my birthday now.
But at 32 I’m just not that mature yet.
Vegas had an amazing surprise planned for me on my birthday… but she didn’t wait until the day of to treat me! And – because I don’t think you should stop being treated either – I have a delicious (healthy-ish!) cheesecake dessert giveaway for you at the end of this post.
So. To begin the birthday celebration we first went to a fabulous dinner on my birthday-eve. The Patio on Goldfinch has been on my list to try for a long time. Vegas picked me up in my freshly washed car (another treat!) and we had a lovely evening out. How fabulous does this look?!
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My family loves a party.
To say the least.
Last Saturday would have been my dad’s 59th birthday. I froze him in my head at 52… it’s weird to think he would have been almost 60 this year. It may seem weird to some people, but we decided to have a little party in his honor with some close good family friends.
My dad loved people. He also loved good food and good wine. We made sure all were present! We laid out snacks while prepping the grilled goods. Cheese, crackers, soppressata, grapes, and figs:
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Sea Bass is a pork belly of the sea.
Who wants chicken when you can have pork?!
It especially appropriate that Heather, Kirk and I had pork belly of the sea together rather than the chicken. Heather hates chicken. All poultry, really. But I digress.
First, a strange wine. This Abraxas Vin de Terroir from Robert Sinskey had a glass cork! (And can we all agree that cheese is awesome?)
The the pièce de résistance – Kirk’s Miso Glazed Sea Bass. I saw this recipe on Heather’s blog nearly a year ago and never forgot it. It struck me as strange because I always prepare my sea bass simply, with lemon, pepper, and maybe a few herbs.
When Kirk suggested it for dinner, I was beyond thrilled. It did not disappoint! Talk about #strangebutgood… look at this thing of beauty:
I took one bite and sat in stunned silence. It was unreal how buttery and delicious this was! It literally melted in my mouth.
The soy and miso combined with mirin and a little brown sugar created the perfect balance of sweet and salty. After it was over I went back to the serving plate to drag some veggies through the left over glaze. In hindsight, I probably should have licked the plate.
In conclusion… you should head on over to Heather’s blog for the recipe and make this.
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How have you enjoyed making co-workers, friends, or family stare with strange but good creations this week? The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above. In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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I can’t believe I have to go home soon… I’m so sad!
Are you a sea bass fan? How about chicken of the sea (tuna)?
What is the strangest thing you ate this week?
